Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

PCC's Art Beat celebrates 18th year

Photos and story by James Hill

Art Beat Home PagePORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Community College’s showcase festival Art Beat is ready for its 18th year from May 10-14.Art Beat 2004 will spread across all three PCC campuses, offering students and the community access to local, regional and national artists as well as an extensive collection of visual art, dance, music, theater and literary events to help expose them to art. Each campus will feature a variety of performances, art displays, interactive demonstrations and workshops. The best part of Art Beat is that it is free and open to the public."I hope that Art Beat exposes our students and community members to different ways of seeing, hearing, speaking, and moving,"said Charlie Washburn, ceramics instructor and PCC Art Beat committee member. "By being exposed to different ideas, each person may be able to draw some parallels and differences between their view of the world and those of others."Art Beat will have one of the region’s most prominent and respected artists as the featured artist in 2004 in painter James Lavadour. The eastern Oregon painter will discuss his work "Ghost Camp"and his other landscapes and abstract forms. Lavadour has received many fellowships and awards, including the 1994 Oregon Governor’s Arts Award and the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s 1998 Award for Painting; and Benjamin Genocchio of the New York Times has called Lavadour’s work "intense and thrilling."Lavadour will host a slide lecture from 11 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, May 12 in the Little Theatre (CT 201) at the Sylvania Campus; 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 12 in Terrell Hall 203 at the Cascade Campus; and 1-2 p.m. on Thursday, May 13 in The Forum of Building 3 at the Rock Creek Campus.To read more about the featured artist and get a full schedule of the Art Beat 2004 events, go to the Web site: artbeat.pcc.edu.Kickoff ReceptionThe weeklong festival will start with a reception from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the foyer of the Performing Arts Center at the Sylvania Campus. There will be musical entertainment featuring staff members, and presentations of the student art awards and student music composition competition.Art Beat 2004 HighlightsHighlights during Art Beat 2004 include the Polaris Dance Theater performance from noon to 12:45 p.m. on Friday, May 14 in the HT Gym at the Sylvania Campus. A dance workshop will follow in Dance Studio HT 101 from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. This exciting company performs inspiring, original choreography based in ballet and modern dance technique. Company members bring an array of professional talents to the innovative choreography with supple, athletic, and powerful movements. From 10 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 13, S. Renee Mitchell will host a literary reading in Room 122 in Building 3 at the Rock Creek Campus. Mitchell writes about neighborhood, school, government and urban issues in Portland as a thrice-weekly columnist for The Oregonian. She will also read from her recent book of poetry, "Thought You Knew: Poetic Testimonies about Life, Liberation, and Love,"from 6 to 7 p.m. on Monday, May 10 in Student Center 203 at the Cascade Campus.At the Cascade Campus, students will be working on the "Mural Project: Art in Action"at the Student Center’s inner street. This event focuses on large format paintings on a variety of subject matter using diverse painting styles. The works will be in progress all week long. Other artists include Axe Dide music and dance performance, Arohi Ensemble, public artist Lynda Wysong and PCC textile artist Sylvia Welch.Parking and ContactsParking at all three campuses is free during Art Beat 2004. The events will be held at the Cascade Campus (705 N. Killingsworth), Rock Creek Campus (17705 N.W. Springville Road), and the Sylvania Campus (12000 S.W. 49th Ave.). For more information, call 503-977-4270. Those needing interpreting or other accommodations, call the Office for Students with Disabilities, 503-977-4341 voice, 503-246-4072 TTY.